We want to show Congress that we are listening, and we will hold them accountable if they do not take action to stop this administration!

My colleague and I have written a letter to be delivered to our reps. In it, we outline our deepest concerns about Trump and his regime...his conflicts of interest, possible ties to Russia, erratic behavior, and disregard for the Constitution. Please join us and sign with your name and city/state! We will hand deliver it to all members of Congress represented by those who signed.

Please sign by May 10, 2017.

Thank you for your support!

Here's the letter...

We are writing to you today to express our deep concern regarding the recent actions and behavior of our newly elected president, Donald Trump, and his administration. Within this letter, we intend to lay out the issues that trouble us most, namely his conflicts of interest, unstable behavior, disregard for the Constitution, and possible ties to the Russian government. We urge you as a public servant and representative of the people to take immediate action within legal bounds in order to hold his administration accountable. It is our belief that Trump and his team are a sincere threat to our Republic. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to fight to preserve our country’s ideals and integrity.

While his presidency is still new, many have already identified frightening parallels between Donald Trump’s behavior and that of autocratic leaders, past and present, who ruled with more concern for self than for country at the expense of their citizens. On the campaign trail and during his first days in office, Donald Trump has shown himself to be a man incapable of being criticized by the public, other politicians, or our media. Trump, who is a flippant and unabashed liar, lashes out at those who question him, whether those individuals are among the general public, the cast of a late-night TV show, journalists, or members of the judicial system. In his selection of White House staff and Cabinet nominees he has placed unqualified officials in high office with the intention of “stacking the deck” in his favor, and is arguably guilty of nepotism. His character, combined with his nationalist viewpoint, strong-man tactics, and disdain for the balance of power between our branches of government echoes the attitudes of infamous leaders like Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, and Adolf Hitler.

Let us be clear in saying that Donald Trump is not these individuals. He has not yet had enough time in office to abuse his power to the full extent committed by these leaders and he may never reach that point. However, we are writing to you now to say that Donald Trump is flirting with that line, and that we believe he represents a real threat to democracy and to America itself. Given the extensive power of the president’s office and need for a president’s restraint and respect for the authority of all three branches of government and the interests of the American people, Trump’s rhetoric and first steps in office warrant action. If we do not remain vigilant and fully investigate his actions so far, we risk allowing a single individual, aided by a team that is unqualified to lead our nation and who represents special interests, to undermine the very foundation of our democracy.

We believe this president has already shown himself capable of and willing to commit constitutional violations. Our nation’s constitution is the sole document that binds us and that defines us as a country. Throughout his campaign and his first days in office, Donald Trump has made his blatant disregard for America’s constitutional values and checks on the president clear. He has suggested that he would pursue restrictions on our free press, a violation of the 1st Amendment, and makes it his daily mission to undermine public trust in journalism. Trump’s recent executive order (13769) preventing individuals from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the US has been challenged as a violation of the 14th Amendment and US District Judge James Robart, among others, imposed a stay on the order. In response, Trump lashed out, referring to Robart as a “so-called judge” for having the audacity to exercise the judiciary’s constitutional authority to reign in actions by the president that they deem inappropriate under the law. His justification for this executive order and claim that it is not intended to target Muslims is absurd given his past statements including his argument during his presidential campaign that he would “strongly consider” closing mosques as a tactic against terrorism—a statement that, if enacted, would also be a violation of the Constitution under both the 1st and 14th amendments.

Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. constitution also makes it clear that “no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.” It is clear that the framer’s intended to prevent any foreign government or entity from influencing American affairs by bribing our president. Yet, from the moment Trump took office, he has been in violation of the Emoluments Clause.

In his first major press conference after taking office he said that he had placed his businesses under the day to day care of his sons. Trump even went so far as to have accountants bring out mounds of supposed “business and tax documents” in folders which he claimed proved his holdings were now under his children’s control, yet refused to let the press peruse their contents. The Office of Government Ethics then stated after the press conference that even if he did place his holdings in the care of his sons as he claimed, it would not be sufficient evidence of full divestment from his business or a true “blind trust” as is mandated by our Constitution. His staff and supporters have also enabled his unconstitutional business ventures, including a statement made by Kellyann Conway unashamedly endorsing Ivanka Trump’s products on national television.

As a result of his election and assumption of office as President, Trump is now also in violation of his lease with General Services Administration on his recently erected Trump Hotel in Washington DC. The lease states “no…elected official of the Government of the United States…shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom.” He also continues to maintain many of his business relationships which do have financial ties with other nations. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China remains the largest tenant in Trump Tower and the nations excluded from Executive Order 13769 include those that not only have a verified history of involvement in terror attacks on America, but with whom he also has business dealings. According to Trump, the American people are supposed to believe his claim that this executive order is designed to protect us, but the nations he has chosen to include do not have a record of involvement in such attacks. If the true intention of his action is to reduce the risk of terrorism on US soil, why would he choose not to suspend visas for individuals from nations who were known to have participated in the 911 attacks if not for his own personal interests?

To add insult to injury, Trump and his team have also stated that, despite claims to the contrary during his campaign, he has no intention of releasing his tax returns. This has been standard practice for every president since Nixon and ensures transparency. His unwillingness to do so can only lead the American people to believe he has a great deal he wishes to hide.

Trump’s actions and words are clearly indicative of a man who puts his personal gains and interests above those of American citizens. Trump neither understands nor respects the intention of the framers or the emolument’s clause and this is made clear by his lack of interest in establishing a blind trust for his company, his use of tax-payer money for personal business trips for his extended family, and his questionable decisions regarding Executive Order 13769.

Another issue of grave concern is the Trump Administration’s ties to Russia. This past July, US intelligence agencies revealed that Russia was interfering with the 2016 election by leaking emails from the DNC. One can only assume that this was part of a smear campaign to sew divisions within the Democratic Party in the wake of the recent primary and was intended to keep the spotlight on Hillary’s controversial unsecure email server use.

Shortly after this, a dossier was released, partially compiled by a former MI6 officer, which outlines supposed details of Trump’s ties to Russia and scandalous acts he committed while on travel there. The dossier then goes on to state that the more shocking details were presumably intended by the Russian government to be used as blackmail against Trump. While many of the more outlandish details of the dossier have yet to be validated, some have indeed been corroborated since then, including some specific locations and timing of conversations between Russian officials.

We have now also learned that in the weeks prior to Trump’s inauguration, then soon-to-be National Security advisor, Michael Flynn, communicated with the Russian ambassador regarding recent sanctions placed by then President Obama and presumably promised to lift them once Trump took office. After Obama placed the aforementioned sanctions on Russia as retaliation for their interference in our election, the American public was waiting on some kind of inevitable retaliation from the Russian government. It never occurred. Trump took office and some of those sanctions were indeed lifted. Flynn has since been forced to resign from his post.

Many of Trump’s cabinet appointments also have disturbing ties to Russia as well. For example, Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is the CEO of Exxon Mobile and worked closely with Russian owned oil company, Rosneft. He was subsequently awarded the Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin himself in 2013. Even as we write this letter, we have now learned that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had two meetings with the Russian ambassador while serving as a surrogate for the Trump campaign, which he failed to disclose during his confirmation hearing and brings into question his ability to fairly oversee the FBI investigation into the Trump administration’s ties to Russia. Trump himself has consistently praised Putin’s leadership and has refused to offer criticism of any of his actions on the world stage.

On top of all of this, several reputable media outlets, including the NY Times, have since stated that several government officials intercepted calls in which the Trump campaign communicated with Russian officials. With each passing day, more and more connections are being revealed about this administrations ties to Russia and if many are proven interconnected or true, it would be a betrayal of our Republic not seen since the days of Nixon’s Watergate scandal or even that of Benedict Arnold.

The role of the president requires a calm mind and careful restraint. It requires a leader who is decisive, but who listens to the people and makes decisions for the people, not for himself. As America’s chief citizen, he is responsible for bringing the nation together and representing ALL Americans to the world, not deepening the divide between us. We do not believe that Donald Trump will exercise this restraint nor do we believe he cares for the well being of the American people. While past presidents have exercised executive power in different ways, Donald Trump represents a very real and very different threat. His actions and rhetoric paint a clear picture of a man intent on his own personal gain. A man who will take the powers of the White House to their fullest extent in the name of himself, not that of Americans. Donald Trump has shown himself to be unfit for the presidency through the examples we have laid out here and through other actions too numerous to list in this letter.

It is imperative for all of our representatives and public servants to help hold the Trump administration accountable for these actions as they come to light. We are asking you to begin compiling evidence for the case of impeachment and the full pursuit of justice regarding his entire cabinet and administration. We also insist that you uphold the Constitution and openly attack any violation of our balance of power. Finally, we implore you to call for a full and transparent investigation into the Trump administration’s ties to Russia through the use of a special prosecutor. We realize the gravity of our request and the risk you must take to meet it. We understand that this is a large task that must be met with bipartisan effort, but we are fully confident that it can be achieved. The majority of American people today are behind you, will stand by you, and the citizens of the future will be in your debt.

We appreciate you addressing our concerns as citizens of this nation. Thank you for your service to our country.